The river press., 1887-12-07
GOING TO BE" ONCE MORE.

|
you naughty boy; you're telling false
hoods" "I'll bet you $1,000" And as he
gets very red in the face he pokes out his
tongue and shouts in passion which
should certainly close all further argu-
ment, you just "mind your own business"
SO there now!
Well, those are very heavy arguments, "
that of child of three summers who
closes his debate with, 'and anyhow fyou
don't mind your own business III tell my
ma" and that ofsthe man() who, without
facts to support his claim, always yells,
'sIll bet your No man has yet been
shown by these Great Falls boomers that
is engaged in the business of farming on
the bench lands around that town. There
| is the fact in the case. No amount OF talk
will or can induce Montana farmer to
| try the thing; he knows better. NO
amount Of betting will produce crops
where there is lack Of water. The lie
| that the Tribune sends forth to the world
in regard to this matter is not intended
for Montanians, but for ignorant. unin-
formed people in the east. There could
be no more malicious and criminal pro-
ceeding conceived than that which would
induce emigrants to settle on our desolate
and dry bench lands to try an experiment
that none of our old time and experienced
farmers Will make And why must this
suffering and disaster, this drawing OF the
very life blood by inches, be perpetrated
upon confiding and simple people? Sim
plv that the selfish ambitions of lot OF
townsite boomers may be satisfied.
Am [ minding my own business? Lets
review little To advertise their town
the Great Falls people secure a certain
ruling of the land Office which says their
neighborhood shall not be considered des-
ert land. AS a representative of class
ten times as numerous as that coterle OF
spectators and middle-men congregated
at the Falls, I question this fact as we'll as
the policy involved, and say that | believe
that community have made mistake.
The paper and the citizens, in cowardly
ANONYMOUS communications, come down
upon me and use abusive language against
me personally. [ can not retort in regard
to any unsavory records that possibly
said parties may be dragging along after
them because they have not signed their
names. What recourse have got? Sim
Div to ask what is, and who is, and why is,
and what excuse for being has this COM
munity. that is ''going to be- and do, and
have everything; this community that
saws "I know more of your business than
YOU do yourself; plant myself here now
and propose to run and rule every indus
trv and trade of this section; I will de-
eide what your lands are and how you
shall cultivate them; I will tell you where
the capital of the territory or state shall
be located, where the mines shall be
worked and their product be handled,
where the commerce and trade shall be
centered and where the lines Of transpor
tation shall be built" Who is this high
and mighty judge before whom all must
cringe and against whom no man shall
dare say word? He has gall; he is bonn
bastic; he poses with superb air OF su-
periority: but what claim has he that all
should be his slaves and implicitly and
without murmur follow his behests.
He is d simple man indeed who
would be brow-beat by this
booming and specializing toWnslte COM
pany.
Just suppose the soft soap and lye which
holds this gorgeous bubble together
should some day cease to perform it's
work; suppose the "backers" should con-
clude to put no more good money after
bad, and as the admiring crowd is won
derlingly watching the flashing rainbow
t1nts as the beautiful sphere floats SO
renely across a summer sky OF blue-it'
should burst! All! sad spectacle; if the
bubble had not been blown so large, if the
soap had not been SO strong with lye,
what difference there might have been.
All! sad words "it might have BEEN"
Allow me to state once more my position
as it has been "maliciously" putt false
light by the Tribune. Under present con-
ditions no paying crops can be grown with
out irrigation on our bench lands away from
the mountains In the mountains, and
very near them, crops can be grown with
out artificial irrigation. When. these
mountain lands are fully cultivated and
all lands that can be reached by irrigating
bitches are cultivated, then doubtless
enough rainfall will be engendered to
make farming more or less profitable on
our bench lands. Anyone who discour-
ages this method of bringing about the
agricultural development of Montana is
an enemy to the territory.
So far as Great Falls as city is con-
cerned, have always taken just exactly